Carper to Question Greenspan on Health of Economy, Outlook for Stock Market, Impact of Corporate Crime

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Tom Carper plans to question Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan tomorrow about the health of the nation’s economy, the outlook for the nation’s stock market and the impact tough new accounting reforms will have on businesses. Greenspan will appear before the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday for his semi-annual report on the monetary policy of the Federal Reserve System. “From young parents saving for their children’s college education to those planning for retirement, America is a nation of investors. The recent corporate scandals have served to erode people’s faith in the stock market. The resulting losses have been dramatic. Our goal must be to restore investor confidence and get this economy moving again,” Carper said. “We need to get this economy moving in the right direction again. A lot of the fundamentals are sound. If you look at growth and productivity and the manufacturing activity, there is some good news. Inventories are still not being built up- they are being drawn down. That is good. But what is troubling is what is going on in the stock exchanges. Investors are skittish. It’s understandable that they are. We can begin to restore in a very meaningful tangible way the confidence of those in very stores in America, and in American companies, beginning with the Senate’s passage of a major accounting reform bill to address these abuses.” In the wake of Enron, WorldCom and ImClone, the Senate was set Monday to pass tough accounting reform standards to better protect investors and prevent future financial scandals. Carper is a member of the Senate Banking Committee, which drafted the bill that creates an independent board to oversee the accounting industry; strengthens the Securities and Exchange Commission; increases corporate responsibility and toughens auditor independence standards. WHO: Chairman Alan Greenspan, Senate Banking Committee, Senator Tom Carper WHAT: Hearing on the State of the Nation’s Economy and its Future Direction WHERE: Hart Senate Office Building, Room 216, Washington DC WHEN: Begins at 10:00 am, Tuesday, July 16, 2002